By Patrick Simmsgeiger, CEO of DWI
For years applicators have been using all forms of copper sulfate in attempts to control the growth of various species of alga. As we all desire to preserve our environment, most particularly the water, we have sought other products that are more environmentally friendly. We have double chelated the copper sulfate content of our products. We have tried everything from UV lighting, bacteria, and enzymes to barley straw. We’ve all heard the stories- we’ve tested their effectiveness and we’ve mostly gone back to what we know will work- copper sulfate.
In recent years our company began testing quite a few of these alternate products. The one obvious conclusion we came to is that the effectiveness of some of these products really depends on the percentage of active ingredients. Many claim to be effective, but in comparison testing, the products that are truly effective are the products with the higher percentage of active ingredient(s).
We are a company that was dead set against the new wave of bacteria and enzymes, as our field tests yielded no results. After five years of testing various bacteria, we found a strain of bacteria in a strength that actually produced results. Not only did it yield results, it reduced the amount of copper sulfate products needed.
In our testing we found a bacteria level that seemed to “boost” the effectiveness of copper sulfate, thereby reducing the use of chemicals. To us this was a “win, win” combination that we pursued with more filed testing.
